


Chrashley's Happily Ever After

by boom_butterfly_effect



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Babies, F/M, Marriage Proposal, Pregnancy, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-06-26 14:30:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15665085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boom_butterfly_effect/pseuds/boom_butterfly_effect
Summary: Big life events are happening for Chris and Ashley! From getting married to starting a family and moving into a house. Written for Tumblr user @jess-riley 's birthday! Happy birthday girl!





	1. Marry Me

One warm August Sunday, 3 ½ years after the events on Blackwood Mountain, the day that everyone secretly had anticipated had arrived. Ashley woke up that morning and couldn’t hardly believe that  _ she _ of all the survivors from that horrible event was getting married. She laid in bed for a minute trying not to dwell on how horrific that night was, but at the same time, secretly missing Josh. She knew that he was there in spirit, but she couldn’t help but wish that he was standing beside Chris up there.

She sighed, “Let’s get married!”

She put on her robe that had “bride” embroidered on the back, that Jessica insisted she wear, and she looked in the mirror hanging on the back of her childhood bedroom door and sighed in joy. Ashley opened up the door and walked down the hall to the bonus room where Jessica, Sam, and Emily were sleeping.

Sam was awake, on her phone when she peered her head in. Sam looked up at her and smiled, “You ready Ash?”

“I think I’ve been ready for a long time,” Ashley nodded.

Jessica started to stir due to the talking, slowly waking up.

“You’re wearing your robe!”

“Yeah! It kinda put me in shock that, holy shit, I’m getting married today,” Ashley responded.

Sam shook Emily awake and she took off her eye mask and yawned, “Hey Ashley. How much time do we have until the wedding?”

“We have,” and looked down the time on her phone, “4 hours approximately until you guys have to walk down the aisle so we should probably start getting ready.”

The other 3 got up and put on their respective “bridesmaid” robes and walked to the bedroom where they started to put their makeup on. They each had pretty simple looks with subtle pops of color in eyeshadow to match their corresponding dresses. Jessica and Emily wore strapless maroon dresses and Sam, as the maid of honor, wore a different color and style, a single-strapped navy dress. Jessica and Emily put their hair up in an updo that were similar to one another. Sam, on the other hand left her hair down. She had recently cut into a short bob so it didn’t seem too out of place among the girls. 

After the events on Blackwood mountain, Chris and Ashley’s romantic tension had been resolved with their one kiss before Chris went to look for Josh. Nobody else really knew how close they had become. In fact, nobody knew they were dating until Ashley’s birthday in July when Chris kissed Ashley in front of the gang at her birthday party after giving her his gift.

The entire time they dated, it was full of laughing both together and at each other. Chris loved to tickle Ashley and one time Ashley accidentally kicked Chris right in the crotch. He forgave her, but was more cautious about tickling her from then on.

Most of their dates at the beginning of their relationship took place outside. From picnics to swimming at the pool, they thought of it all. One time in particular, they went to go have a romantic night stargazing in a field near both of their houses, but Chris forgot to put on bug spray and they had to leave and see a movie instead because he got covered in mosquito bites.

On their two-year anniversary, Chris planned out this elaborate proposal. He took Ashley on a super expensive dinner, which she was expecting of him for their anniversary, but then he took her back to their old school where they met, they played on the playground and eventually ended up playing tag. Chris called for a time out and then got down on one knee. Ashley started crying, half-out of breath already from chasing him.

They moved into a one-bedroom place in Lethbridge. Chris got a job as an IT guy after finishing college with a degree in computer engineering and Ashley started working at a dog grooming place while still taking classes at the local community college. She had taken a couple gap years after Josh’s death while Chris wanted to stay busy and so he went straight to college and finished when Ashley was a sophomore. They planned their wedding in a year and a half to everyone’s surprise. And finally the day had arrived.

Chris woke up in their apartment, which seemed emptier without Ashley sleeping beside him. This being the rare occasion since there is all the bad luck surrounding seeing the bride in her dress before the wedding. He went out to the living room and saw Mike and Matt playing video games.

When Mike saw Chris, he got up and cheered, “There’s the old ball and chain. How’s it feels to know after today it’s just you and Ashley…. forever….”

“Feels amazing, man!” Chris said without hesitation.

“Awesome,” Matt smiled, nodding for Chris to join them in playing their game, “Come on, we’re about to find out if the guy is actually The Trapper.”

The 3 of them played the game until Chris’ alarm went off for them to start getting ready. They took turns going into the bathroom and putting on their navy-blue tuxedos with maroon bow-ties. Each to when they came out were met with whoops from the other two. Chris went last and when he came out of the bathroom there was quiet for a minute.

Eventually Matt piped in, “You look amazing man. We’re really happy for you. I know Josh would’ve been proud to be your best man.”

Mike just nodded and after that mushy moment he had to break the tension so he screamed, “LETS GO GET THIS GUY MARRRRIEEEEEEDDDDD!”

Finally, the hour had arrived. Guests filed into seats at a park that Chris and Ashley both loved that overlooked some of the best views in the town. A speaker played some soft music as everyone took their seats. Chris walked Ashley’s mom down the aisle. Matt walked Emily down the aisle, and Mike took Sam. Finally, Jessica walked down holding the hands of Ashley’s two little cousins, one who was carrying the rings tied to a pillow; the other who was throwing flowers. They all stood next to the officiant, a family friend of Chris’ who knew them both very well. Mike and Matt left a spot between them and Chris as a spot for the missing best man as a symbol of respect for the loss of Josh.

The music changed to a song that meant a lot to both Chris and Ashley, Steamroller by Phoebe Bridgers. After the ordeal up on Blackwood, this was the song that was playing when they first kissed and it made Ashley smile again when she hadn’t for a month after Josh had died. The guests all stood. From around the corner of a building came Ashley, along with her stepdad and dad on either side of her. Her dress had a mesh top but besides that was sleeveless and was very plain except for once it got to the waistline and below there were cute, almost playful, ruffles in the dress and it cut off at her ankles. For her shoe choice, she picked simple white heels that had a peekaboo so you could see her toes were painted a maroon red as well. Her hair was braided back in a crown like ‘do that had so many bobby pins in it, she didn’t want to admit how much it was poking her.

Chris was looking down at first but when he made eye contact with Ashley, both of them started to tear up. Finally, she made it down the aisle and both her dads kissed her cheeks and took their seats. Eventually it came time for the vows. They had both written their own, so the officiant let them take over.

Chris went first, “Wow…. okay,” he said shakily before starting, “Ash since the day I met you, I dreamed about this moment. I always thought those dreams were unrealistic, and I keep pinching myself, expecting to wake up at any moment now. I remember our first date when we both shared a kid’s meal and the restaurant almost threw us out. And the first time I told you I loved you and you curled up in the fetal position for an hour before saying it back. Today I take you as my wife. Together we will build a life that surpasses anything I could’ve ever dreamt of. I love you.”

Ashley laughed a little and wiped a tear away and swallowed the rest of her nerves before looking down at her paper and starting, “Chris, in your eyes, I have found my home. In your heart, I have found my love. In your soul, I have found my mate. With you I am whole, full,  _ alive _ . You make me laugh. You let me cry. You are my breath, my every heartbeat. You are my inspiration, and my soul's fire. You provide a safe space for me unlike I’ve ever known. You are my greatest love. I am yours. You are mine. I love you too.”

They exchanged rings and then the officiant said, “I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Hartley. You may now kiss the bride.”

Chris lifted Ashley’s veil, leaned down, and they kissed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Edited Jan 7, 2019


	2. You'll Be In My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Christmas, the couple get a surprise they weren't exactly expecting.

It had been 4 months since Chris and Ashley had tied the knot and Christmas was starting to roll around. They had planned to go spend Christmas Eve with Chris’ family and Christmas Day with Ashley’s. That Monday morning, however, Ashley woke up not feeling quite herself, but she shrugged it off and put on her grey sweater and almost put on her favorite jeans but remembered she was supposed to be starting her monthly friend soon and chose a pair of stretchy fleece-lined Christmas leggings instead cause she was bloating.

Chris was watching TV when she came out of the room. He was still in his red flannel pajama pants and personally, Ashley’s favorite of his t-shirts. She liked to steal it from him and wear it whenever he wasn’t wearing it, which was always.

“Morning,  _ wife _ ,” Chris said, cheerfully. He still hadn’t gotten used to calling her that, and was still amused whenever he did.

“Good morning,  _ husband _ ,” Ashley replied, still sleepy, “Aren’t we supposed to be heading over to your parent’s house soon?

Chris walked over to her and kissed her forehead, “Yeah I was waiting for you to wake up so I wouldn’t bother you when I was getting dressed. You feel okay?”

“Yeah,” she rolled her eyes, “PMS is a bitch.”

Chris nodded in acknowledgement and went and got dressed. He put on like 3 layers too many and jeans. They drove over to his parent’s house and were greeted with many hugs because Chris’ little sister was over, home from college. When Ashley smelled all the food she gagged a little.

Chris was smiling at her but when he saw her gag his face scrunched up with concern, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

She nodded confidently, “Is the food ready?”

“Yes, it is, darling. We were just waiting for you guys to get here!” Chris’ mom, Rosaline, said.

“Let’s eat then!” Ashley said, smiling.

The meal was filled with lots of questions directed towards Ashley and Chris like “When are you gonna give us grandchildren?” or “How are you guys liking your new jobs?”. After they finished eating, Ashley started feeling sick to her stomach

“Chris, I need to get to a bathroom,” she said, grabbing her mouth.

She ran to the nearest bathroom and threw up everything she had just ate.

Chris decided that Ashley was truly sick and apologized to his parents and sister and took Ashley home.

The next day, they had a private Christmas by themselves, keeping Ashley from contaminating anyone at her family’s rather large Christmas get-together. She kept assuring Chris she was just having a rather rough period and that in a week she would be better. But when New Year’s came and she wasn’t feeling better yet, they went into a clinic to see what was wrong with Ashley and if it was the flu, to make sure she got proper treatment. After they ran a flu test and it came back negative.

“So let me get this right, you’ve had nausea, vomiting, and fatigue?” the doctor asked.

“Yeah,” Ashley said, confused.

“Out of curiosity, have you also been having headaches, constipation, or pain in your boobs?” The female doctor asked.

Ashley’s face scrunched up like this doctor was reading her mind, “How did you know that?”

“I need you to pee in this cup for me. I think I have an idea of what’s going on here.” She replied, smiling.

Ashley did as told and the doctor took her pee and put a stick in there and set a timer for 3 minutes. They made small talk about the horrible weather and how long Chris and Ashley had been married. Finally, it beeped and the doctor walked over to it and laughed.

“Well what’s going on?” Chris interjected.

“Let me be the first to congratulate you two,” she turned around and showed them the two lines on the test, “You’re pregnant, Ashley.”

Ashley didn’t believe that “at home” test the doctor had taken, or the 10 others she took over the next week. So, she scheduled an appointment with her doctor after the holidays were over and made them run a blood test to make 100% sure, even though if she _was_ pregnant, which she was in denial about, she was definitely showing already. Her usually small frame had a small little pooch in the front of it. When she got the call that told her the results from her blood test, she was at home with Chris, making chocolate chip cookies. Everything was fun and they were dancing around to Ed Sheeran’s music when her phone rang.

All Chris heard was, “Hello? Yes, this is her,” and then slowly, Ashley put down the vanilla extract and the phone and started to cry.

“Ash? What’s wrong? Is everyone okay?” Chris asked, worried that one of her family members had died or something.

“We’re gonna have a baby,” she said, sobbing.

Chris’ eyes lit up, “We are?! You’re not kidding me, are you…”

She shook her head and he picked her up and she wrapped her arms and legs around him, still crying. After he put her down, he got down on his knees so his head was at her stomach level and started to talk to it.

“Hey there little one,” he said, rubbing what had accumulated to be a little bump, “I’m your dad!”

Ashley shook her head, choking on her tears, “I don’t think it can hear you.”

Tears came to his eyes and he looked up at Ashley, who was clearly amused by his excitement and had stopped crying, “We’re gonna have a little boy or girl…. We’re gonna need a bigger house.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Edited Jan 7, 2019


	3. Twenty Tiny Fingers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris and Ashley go in for their 13 week appointment and find out a big bit of news. They also go house hunting!

7 weeks went by with minimal news regarding the baby. Chris and Ashley were busy picking up extra shifts at work to help pay for things the baby would need. They still hadn’t told anyone yet and it was easy to hide because they lived at least 30 minutes away from everyone they knew and nobody was in the habit of driving into the city just to see them.

“How are we gonna tell everyone?” Ashley said, looking at her decently sized belly as she sat on the couch.

Chris was busy looking at houses on his laptop, “What do you think about Coaldale?” 

“We could go check it out after our appointment. I just don’t know what we’re gonna do about telling our parents, babe. They kinda deserve to know. Plus this little one is showing an awful lot. Our families are gonna wanna see us sometime.”

“I’ll call my parents, you call yours, and we’ll plan a party where we announce it, ok?”

“Ooh! We should invite the gang too! That’s killing like all the birds with one stone,” Ashley said, her face lighting up.

Chris nodded, “Sure. I’ll text the group. See what day works for them. Then we can call the parents and set it up.”

While Chris did that, Ashley got up and got ready for her doctor’s appointment. It was her 3 month, but she was nearing 13 weeks. She was super nervous for this appointment because this was the first one in her second trimester. Usually the first is the one where everything can go wrong so she was panicked that somehow, something was wrong and this would be the time they would tell her. They made it to the doctor and Ashley laid down on the table, belly exposed and Chris held her hand because she was bracing for the worst.

The technician came in and smiled warmly at the couple before explaining that the jelly was gonna be cold on her belly and squirted it on there. She used the wand and pushed some buttons to locate the baby and Ashley and Chris just looked at each other smiling as they heard the strong heartbeat of their little one. Until suddenly there was more noise. And the ultrasound tech moved the wand around to see what was going on as Chris and Ashley looked at the screen in anxiety.

Suddenly, the tech looked back at them and said, “Do you guys see that?”

“See what?” Chris said, confused.

She pointed on the screen to where there was a side view of Ashley’s stomach where there was, very clearly, a second baby.

“Is that what I think it is?” Chris said, obviously shocked.

Ashley smiled, not only relieved that there was nothing wrong with her babies, but that there was babies, plural, “Twins. Of course.”.

After their appointment, they headed to look at the house Chris had found in Coaldale. They had already looked at a few houses in a few different places but none of them felt right. This one was a four bedroom two and a half bath with a pretty sizable fenced-in backyard. The previous owners were looking to downsize after becoming empty-nesters.

Chris and Ashley pulled up to the house and it was gorgeous. It was a little over their price range, but the house had been on the market for a year so they figured they could get them to talk it down. They had asked to do a walkthrough with the previous owners so they could get a feel for the house instead of the sales pitch.

“Welcome to the Williams home. I’m Lynn, and this is my husband, Jonathan,” Lynn said waving them into the house.

“Thank you so much for having us,” Chris said.

They walked in and instantly were in love. The living room had plenty of space in it and the kitchen in the back of the house had beautiful cabinetry. Lynn told them about each room and how there was a half-bath off the kitchen. Upstairs were all the bedrooms. 

“Chris, this place is perfect for us to raise them,” Ashley whispered.

Lynn must’ve heard because she looked down at Ashley’s semi-showing bump under her baggy t-shirt, “Are you guys expecting?”

“Yeah, twins! Just found out today,” Ashley said, smiling.

“Congratulations,” Jonathan said, smiling.

“Thanks, man,” Chris nodded.

Ashley sighed, “I think this house would be a perfect place to bring them home to.”

Lynn nodded, “We can get the paperwork started so you guys can be in here by the time they come. We already have a house bought so we can be out of here ASAP.”

“You are a lifesaver,” Ashley said, about to cry cause pregnancy makes you emotional over the little things.

They met with the realtor a few days later and now were going to the party with 3 pieces of news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Edited Jan 7, 2019


	4. Girls/Girls/Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is it girls? Is it boys? Is it both? Plus it's time to tell the friend group and their parent's that they're pregnant.

When they arrived at Chris’ parent’s house a few days later, they were greeted by both sets of parents who had gotten together early. Ashley had purposefully worn one of Chris’ sweatshirt to hide her growing bump. She was glad it was still acceptable to do so since it was a chilly day in early March. They walked in the door and were greeted with hugs.

“Oh! Don’t hug Ashley, she’s sick. Cold got her down,” Chris said.

Ashley faked a cough, “Yeah it’s been a rough week but I’m starting to feel better, but I don’t wanna risk giving it to you.”

The parents left her alone and took a seat. They talked about how married life was going and continued to badger about when they were getting grandkids, completely oblivious as to why they were there.

Slowly but surely, the others showed up. Sam came first, quickly followed by Mike and Jessica who said they had big news of their own. Finally, Matt and Emily came together which was a surprise because they had been on-again off-again since the events on Blackwood. As soon as everyone was there, Mike and Jessica couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Jessica squealed, holding up her left hand, “We’re engaged!”

Everyone cooed over them for a while and looked at her ring which was pretty impressively sized. Ashley winked at Chris and excused herself to the bathroom to take off her sweatshirt to reveal a t-shirt that showed off her bump pretty well. In fact, it even said “eating for 3” on it. Chris had found it on Amazon and thought it was adorable and bought it on the spot and had it rushed delivered to their house.

While Ashley was changing Chris began his spiel, “Now we have 2, really 3 reasons we brought you all here.”

Jessica cut him off, “Oh my god, you’re getting a dog.”

Everyone laughed and Chris just nodded, “How’d you guess?”

“Written all over your face,” Jess said, smirking, proud of herself for getting it right.

Chris’ mom sighed, “Man. I thought you were gonna tell us you were pregnant or something.”

Sam chimed in, “Me too.”

Just then, Ashley came walking out of the bathroom wearing her “eating for 3” shirt. Nobody really paid attention until she cleared her throat after hearing that last comment.

Everyone looked over at her and the room went silent for a second before everyone screamed and got up and hugged her and Chris.

“Wait, so are you guys aren’t getting a dog? You’re having a baby?” Jessica said, still a little confused.

“Honey, yes. Two babies,” Mike replied to her.

Chris piped in, “And because our one-bedroom apartment isn’t really fitting for a family of 4, we’re moving!”

Everyone got all excited and started hugging each other again.

“It’s time to start planning your baby shower!” Emily said with this look in her eye like she was going to plan the whole thing.

They spent the rest of the get-together talking about baby names, to which Chris and Ashley had ideas about but no set things since they still didn’t know the babies genders. They also thought about how to design the nursery. Sam agreed she’d help them decorate it once it came time to.

Finally it was time to go home. Chris and Ashley retreated to watching Netflix on their TV. They had been binging various shows. They had watched everything from Shameless to 13 Reasons Why. As Ashley became more emotional though, Chris became more amused. Tonight, they had picked a movie, Room, and Ashley was pretty much crying the whole time. Not as bad as she had at Brooklyn Nine Nine, but still pretty bad. Chris just held her tight as she sobbed and let the movie play until it reached a not-so heart-wrenching moment.

Once a month up until now, it was time for another prenatal visit. They had become sort of a norm for them. However, this one was different. Because the doctor assured them at their mid-pregnancy appointment that they would find out whether or not their twins were boys, girls, or one of each. So, they took off work and headed to the doctor once again.

By now the ultrasound technician knew them pretty well, because for as common as twins are, they were the only couple in the office’s clientele that was having them.

“Hello again, Mr. and Mrs. Hartley,” she said walking into the room.

“Hello again,” Chris said taking Ashley’s hand in his.

She sat down in her chair and squirted the jelly onto Ashley’s stomach, “So are we finding out the sexes today?”

Ashley nodded, “Yep!”

“Awesome,” the technician said, moving the wand around on her stomach getting a sense for the heartbeats first, “Do you have any guesses?”

“I think it’s girls,” Ashley said, visibly excited.

Chris laughed, “I think it’s a girl and a boy.”

The technician nodded and moved the wand around looking to see which was the best angle to see the babies genital areas. Chris and Ashley watched anxiously, trying to make out what they were seeing on the screen.

Finally, she slowed down her rapid movement of the wand, “You see that? It’s a little penis. So, baby A is a little boy!”

They both were excited. Ashley didn’t mind having a little boy, she just had a feeling they both were girls. The technician moved the wand around some more and located the second baby’s lower half and showed them.

“Looks like baby B is a girl!” She said, smiling over at Chris who was celebrating being right.

The technician cleaned off Ashley’s stomach and left the room. Chris and Ashley celebrated for a little bit and then headed home and immediately started brainstorming names for their children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Edited Jan 7, 2019


	5. With Arms Wide Open

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Ashley's baby shower! Filled with lots of gifts...and lots....and lots...of diapers.

Ashley wanted to get the nursery finished before she got so pregnant that she couldn’t move. By then they had already moved in and had been living there for a couple weeks. When Ashley was 24 weeks or so, her, Sam, and Chris sat down and planned out the design for the nursery. It had to be a gender neutral color since they were having a baby of each gender and it’s not like they believed in the whole “blue is for boys and pink is for girls” bullshit anyway.

They decided on a light grey for 3 of the walls and then a pastel yellow for the accent wall. They painted and hung up decorations with the babies names, which Sam swore to secrecy about until they were born. Then they waited until the baby shower to finish shopping to see what gifts were bought.

Right around the time Ashley started being done with being pregnant, which for her having two babies inside her was around 30 weeks, was the time Emily, Sam, and Jessica threw her a baby shower. She just wanted the babies to be here already, but she still had about 2 months to go, the doctors hoped. She scheduled a C-section for August 26th, which would leave the babies being full term, but twins always come earlier than normal pregnancies so if she made it there, it was a miracle.

Anyhow, the baby shower was larger than she expected it to be. Her mom and Chris’ mom had invited lots of their “well-off friends” as they put it. So, the party was filled with presents that they knew they would have to take straight to the new house.

One lady had given them as many bottles as they could ever use, which could not have been cheap. Another gave two car seats. One just gave an envelope of a lot of money. There was a lot of clothes and diapers given. The occasional burp cloth.

Sam gave them a bottle cleaner, a big box of newborn diapers, and some pacifiers. Emily gave them two boppy pillows and some clothes. When it got to Jessica’s turn, everyone was confused as to where her present was. Then they noticed the big thing in the back of the room covered by a few tablecloths. Jess went and unveiled it and it was a HUGE stack of diapers. Ranging in size from newborn to 3.

“Jessica, you didn’t have to do that,” Ashley said, “We probably won’t even use all of those.”

The crowd of ladies laughed and Chris’ mom said, “Oh yes, honey, you will. Especially with two little ones.”

When the party was over, Sam, Emily, Jessica, Mike, and Matt, along with some of Chris’ college buddies came to help them move out of their apartment and into the house. Everyone’s cars were filled with the gifts from the party. It took them a lot longer than they would like to admit getting it all unloaded and unpacked.

After they were almost settled in, it was time to go shopping for the big things that were essential before the babies were born. The Blackwood gang went to Target, money from the party plus what they had saved up over the last 7 months in tow. Everyone else pushed carts while Ashley had a little cart in her scooter. She was too easily exhausted to be walking around the store. They bought two cribs, a changing table, a rocking chair, lots of little hangers, and lots of little toys. By the time they left, everyone pretty much had a full cart. It didn’t help that they went through the home decor aisles too and found cute things for the house.

Surprisingly enough, they had more than enough money for all the things they bought. When they got back to the house, it was time to assemble everything. Ashley couldn’t help as much as she wanted to because she could hardly do anything being this pregnant. Mike, Matt, and Chris took over building while Jessica, Sam, and Emily helped organize the spare rooms into a diaper warehouse organized by size and hung up the new baby clothes in the closets.

By the time the day was over, everything was done. Chris and Ashley thanked everyone for coming and helping and they relaxed on the couch.

“I can’t believe that we got everything done,” Chris said, yawning.

Ashley nodded, “But we’re almost completely ready for these little babies to be here.”

“That’s scary,” Chris realized, “In just a few weeks we’re gonna be _parents_.”

“Yep.”

Chris seemed suddenly worried, “Ash, do you think I’m gonna be a good dad?”

“Chris, you’ve read to my stomach every night, even before they could hear you. You always get excited when I say they’re kicking. You’ve been telling dad jokes for as long as I’ve known you. You’re gonna be a great dad.”

Chris smiled and kissed her. They headed to bed and got as good of sleep as possible because they knew after long, they wouldn’t be sleeping very well at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Edited Jan 7, 2019


	6. In My Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins are born!

A few weeks before she was supposed to have the babies, Ashley started having Braxton Hicks contractions, which are normal, but her doctor was concerned when she came in. So, he put her on bed rest until she was supposed to go in for surgery.

When the day for the C-section came, Ashley was still more ready than Chris, as usual. She had not one, but 3 bags packed for the hospital. One for each baby, and one for her. Since she knew she would be there for a few days for recovery, she brought anything and everything she thought she or the babies might need.

        As they checked in, they brought out a wheelchair for her and Chris walked alongside as they wheeled her up to the hospital room. Chris set their stuff down as Ashley changed into a gown.

As they were giving her the spinal block so she wouldn’t feel the surgery, Ashley looked over at Chris, “Can you keep my mind off this please?”

“Sure thing. Just think about...,” he thought for a second, “Remember that time we went as Marinette and Adrien for Halloween? Or that time we went as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl? I was thinking this year we go as Kanga and Pooh Bear with our babies as Roo and Tiger.”

        Ashley laughed, her mind not anywhere near the procedure being done to her. Finally, after it was over, they rolled her back into surgery. Chris came along in his scrubs and stood taking pictures of the babies as they were born. Born at 1:45 PM was Elliot Joshua Hartley, partially named after their late best friend. He screamed his little lungs out as they cleaned him off and showed him to Ashley. He had little sprouts of blonde hair and blue eyes. She started tearing up as she looked over at Chris.

        “Josh would be happy for us, wouldn’t he?” She asked.

        Chris laughed, “Trust me, he would’ve been out there handing out cigars like it was his baby.”

        They both had a moment before baby B was born at 1:50, miss Amelia “Millie” Summer Hartley, whose initials coincidentally spelled Ash. It was Chris’ idea. She had a full head of red hair and blue eyes as well.

When Chris saw her, he smiled and Ashley asked, “What?”

“She looks like you,” he said, choking back tears.

Ashley smiled back at him, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” He said wiping away tears.

Once Ashley was stitched up and back in her room, they brought the babies in to have skin to skin. Chris removed his shirt and sat down in the bed next to Ashley. Ashley simply removed the top of her gown.

“Now which one of you wants to hold baby A? Your little boy?” The nurse asked.

Chris piped up, “I will. Is that okay Ash?”

Ashley nodded, “I’ll take our little Millie.”

The nurse picked up Elliot and handed him to Chris. Then she picked up Amelia and handed her to Ashley. They covered the four of them in a blanket to keep the warmth in.

“Hey little buddy, I’m your daddy.” Chris said to Elliot.

“And I’m your mommy,” Ashley said to Amelia.

In the midst of their fear of parenthood, there was a moment of bliss of what was to come. Ashley spent 3 days in the hospital recovering from her C-section. The babies stayed with her and they were all discharged together. Surprisingly for being 2 weeks early, Elliot and Amelia were healthy enough to go home. They dressed them in coming home outfits that coordinated. Elliot’s was light blue and said, “I’m mommy’s favorite” and Millie’s was light pink and said, “I’m daddy’s favorite”. They put them in their car seats and Chris drove as carefully as possible back to their house.

When they got back, Chris opened up the car door and took out Amelia’s car seat as gently as he could, considering she was asleep. Ashley then climbed out and walked around to the other side of the car and got out Elliot’s car seat, also being super gentle. They walked into the house and set their keys and bags down on the table by the door and carried the babies into the loveseat and sat the car seats down on there.

        They both sat just down on the couch when Ashley sighed and went, “One of them has a dirty diaper…. Nose goes.”

        Of course, Chris lost, so he got up and went and smelled each car seat looking for the culprit. It seemed to be coming from Millie’s seat so he slowly unbuckled her, lifted her out, and took her over to the changing table pad they had on the kitchen table and started to unbutton her onesie.

        “Hi there baby girl,” he cooed at her while he undid her diaper, “Don’t mind me, I’m just gonna, OH MY GOD.”

        The smell was enough to make him gag a little bit.

Ashley laughed, “Good one.”

He looked around and realized he had forgotten the diapers and wipes, “Hey Ash, can you get the stuff from the table?”

She slowly got up, as to be gentle on her stitches, and walked over and grabbed one of the baby bags that was yellow and grey and had the name Hartley sewn into it. Another gift from Jessica, as you can imagine. She took it over to him and took out a diaper and wipes and handed it to him. He continued to change the diaper and when he was finished, Amelia’s bottom lip started to quiver and she started to cry.

Ashley started to cry a little too, “Chris I don’t think I’m ready to be a mom.”

“You’re gonna be a great mom, Ash,” he said kissing her forehead, “I think she just is hungry. It’s about time for them to eat. I’ll go get the boppy. You take her.”

Ashley composed herself a little bit and then picked up the still crying Amelia and walked with her over to the couch. She sat down and Chris placed the boppy underneath the tiny baby girl. Ashley looked down at her shirt and realized there was no real way to feed her without taking off her shirt so without hesitation, she did.

After she fed Millie, Chris handed her Elliot so she could feed him as well. He was still asleep so he didn’t really want to eat, but alas, they got him to.

Eventually over the next couple of days, everyone came to see the babies and the new house with all its furniture and painting done. Sam came first and pretty much volunteered to move in with them, which she did, in order to help them adjust to having twins. Matt and Emily came together and announced that they were together for good. Mike and Jessica stopped by and asked for the babies to be in their wedding, which was set for a year or so from then. Each Chris and Ashley’s parents stopped by for the grand tour as well even though they had come to see the babies in the hospital.

No surprise but Chris and Ashley learned to be wonderful parents and learned the true meaning of happiness through their little bundles of joy and one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday @jess-riley! Love always, your Med Stan.
> 
> *Edited Jan 7, 2019


End file.
